Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Review

A legendary hero gets a legendary sendoff.

Even more than the style of play and the various gadgets that can impact the overall experience during battle, the Drebin system touches a primal collection urge within players, where they get a sense that running out and gathering every single pistol, rifle and grenade is innately tied to their survival in the midst of battle. However, it also establishes Snake as another cog in the war economy, one who will exploit the system from the inside in order to protect the rest of the world from its ravages by any means necessary. In some ways, this extends to Snake's ability to gain allies on the battlefield. It may sound like a strange concept, but the fact that the world is engaged in factionalized warfare means that Snake can sometimes exploit this division to his advantage. As you move throughout the various environments in the game, you'll come across different militia troops that are fighting the PMCs for control of their locations. Players essentially are presented with two options in this situation: on one hand, players can retain a lone wolf focus, proceeding on their own, fighting PMC and militia alike. This is perhaps the most traditional way of fighting through a Metal Gear Solid title, and will add an extra challenge as just about every single person in the environment will be hostile to Snake.

On the other hand, they can attempt to gain the trust of these local troops by fighting alongside them, attempting to gain their trust by attacking the PMCs. By building a reputation as a freedom fighter that believes in their cause, the militiamen will aid you in your mission, providing additional fire support during skirmishes and even eliminating PMC soldiers for you. What's more, the PMCs will help Snake out by giving him different items, such as ammunition or health items in battle. However, you'll have to be careful with your aim in the middle of a fight. If you accidentally wind up endangering the militia troops, you can ruin your standing with them, turning them into enemies. That forces you to try to regain their trust after a while, or attempt to bypass their attacks with careful disguises that make you appear to be one of their organization.

Let's get ready to rumble!

All of the above elements contribute to the compelling plot of Metal Gear Solid 4, which is nothing short of incredible for two primary reasons. First of all, as the final chapter in the Solid series, it wraps up every single loose end that has been included within the franchise. Players that have been looking for answers to questions that may have been raised within previous games will find them within MGS4, which is an incredible feat. Many of the mission briefings not only explain where you're going in your next mission, but also cover large sections of topical information to the series. The Patriots, Foxdie, Metal Gear -- somehow, the Kojima Productions team managed to condense all of the franchise's obscure concepts into easily digestible plotlines that players can follow and understand. That's not to say that it will be perfectly clear for beginners, but it does its best to explain as much as possible. In a way, some of the cutscenes play out like CliffsNotes for the Metal Gear Solid universe, providing additional details for those players that have been actively following the franchise while summarizing and explaining what's going on for newcomers. In some ways, this provides more than enough impetus for franchise beginners to fully acquire and explore the previous games in the series, such as the Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection.

Secondly, while Metal Gear Solid games have always been resonant with issues of the day, MGS4 is particularly layered with allegories and topics both to previous games in the series and the real world that reveal a subtle amount of depth. Kojima weaves a tale that explores complex elements such as the horrors of war and its effects on civilians, technology gone horribly awry, mental manipulation and control (whether by technology or an organization) and personal sacrifice into a tour de force experience. In many ways, the number of topics addressed within the title and how they are handled within the title and franchise are large enough to be worthy of a dissertation on its own. There is a caveat to the exploration of these topics, which is that the cutscenes or dialogue sequences that occur around the exposition of these plot pieces can be somewhat lengthy. In fact, the longest cutscene within the game clocks in around 45 minutes, which can be rather daunting by the numbers. However, the scenes themselves are engaging enough that most players won't pay attention to the clock, although you can pause the cutscenes if you need a break or life interrupts, which is an excellent addition for this title.

They look hideous, but they're deadly in battle.

All of these features contribute to an excellent gameplay experience, but additionally striking are its visuals, which make MGS4 one of the best looking titles to date in gaming history. It's apparent that Guns of the Patriots squeezes every pixel possible out of the PS3 and renders them beautifully. As a result, players are witnesses to one of the finest games ever created on any console or PC. Character models are large and impressively rendered in real time, and transitions between cutscenes and gameplay are seamless and natural. What's more, certain action sequences are just as sharp and framed as well as many Hollywood action movies, and there are some moments in particular which surpass film in the way the story is told. Much of this has to do with camera angles that showcase the game action exquisitely – it's rather obvious that from Subsistence on, Kojima Productions has focused on creating a camera system that works exactly the way you want it to, allowing players to experience the entire game from first person if they so choose, or swapping between shoulders with a click of the right analog stick.